The Sick Doctor
by dr100
Summary: The TARDIS - Bigger on the inside and a hub of activity… usually. There was a crash and a shudder and a terrible explosion. The Doctor changed, but there was no regeneration. "Doctor…" the voice hissed. "I have returned." The stranger stepped out from beyond the darkness. "I am the Doctor!"
1. Chapter 1: Lost and found - & lost again

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

* * *

It all happened so quickly. Too fast to begin to remember. The Doctor changed... but there was no _'regeneration'_. His attitude faltered and his mannerisms were different.

_The Library. A rich and resourceful archive of information on all things. Situated in the Horse Head nebula not too far away from the Doctor's home world, Gallifrey. Or what had become of it and then what it became, but it was here, in the library the TARDIS arrived._

_Having recently regenerated, the Doctor was not himself…But he was travelling with two companions he had picked up from Earth, and in turn they would guide him and share with him the experience of adventuring through space and time._

"Where is he?" gasped Amy. "Where's the Doctor?"

Rory shook his head. He hadn't a clue.

"We could try along there," he suggested, pointing towards a bridge that crossed from one section of the library to another. The library was a planet, and the Doctor, Amy, and Rory had landed there not so long ago.

"Alright," agreed Amy. "Lead the way."

Rory grasped a hook that led him down towards the bridge and he helped his missus in her struggle in her high heels.

"What makes you think he'd be down here?" she asked.

"It's something he'd do," answered Rory. "You know what he's like. _'Trouble' _is his middle name!"

"Which reminds me…" said Amy. "- …we don't _know_ his name!"

"I wonder why that might be?" wondered Rory, as he and his wife crept along the bridge keeping an eye out for their friend.

"It could be because he's frightened word will get out? It could be his way of steering clear of trouble?"

"As if," huffed Rory. "The man's a raving lunatic. He'll do anything to get us into trouble."

"You don't know him, though!" moaned Amy. "Not like I do."

But Rory had made up his mind. There was something about the Doctor that agitated him.

"One of these days," he kept on. "-… that man's going to get us killed!"

It was then that the bridge began to wobble. There was a fierce wail from up ahead.

"What is it?" shrieked Amy, grabbing hold of something quick.

"It came from across the other side," he said, huffing and puffing as he crept back in the direction of his wife. But the bridge was no longer safe and Amy slipped in the heat of the moment.

"Amy!" bellowed Rory. He leapt forward to reach out to her, just managing to save her. As he heaved her back over the bridge, they embraced in a way only they knew how, when the bridge began to shudder.

"Rory," she whispered. "It's behind you."

"What is?" he asked. He didn't particularly want to find out.

"Just me!" chuckled a voice Rory regrettably recognised. He spun around holding Amy in his arms. He wasn't impressed.

"You see," he said, looking down into his arms at Amy. "What was I telling you?"

Amy shook her head and leaped towards the Doctor. "You know… I think he's right," she said, hopping forward. "Rory, - that is… not you," she replied.

"I wasn't around when he said it," said the Doctor. "Besides, - if neither of you had run off, we'd all be safe aboard the TARDIS!"

There was an _uncertain_ silence.

"What about that noise?" wondered Rory.

"That's right," said Amy. "We heard a noise."

The Doctor glared at them, his eyes doing summersaults in their sockets.

"It was me," he said, holding on to the bridge, tight.

"But we were sure it was a creature or a monster of some kind. It was coming from the direction you emerged from!"

The Doctor didn't respond. Amy sensed there was something wrong and decided to put in a word.

"What is it, Doctor?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

The Doctor didn't know what she was on about,_ or so he claimed_. He simply shrugged and let things be. He didn't care very much for letting on when he knew something wasn't right. It had become his new _'telling sign'_, that there was danger in sight.

"Come along," he said. "I've found the TARDIS! It's this way…"

He turned about and led them back the way he'd came.

"Are you sure it's safe?" questioned Rory.

"Positively," answered the Doctor.

Amy turned to Rory and smiled.

"He said it's fine," she said, sensitively. "What's wrong?"

"I don't trust him," said Rory. "There's something about his character that's changed, that's all. I want to find out what it is!"

* * *

**In next week's chapter:**

He stood from far beyond the console watching his friends. There was anger in his voice and sorrow in his eyes. The Doctor was indeed a changed man.


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning of the end

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

**Chapter Two: The Beginning…**

**Of the end.**

* * *

The TARDIS - Bigger on the inside and a hub of activity… _usually. _But not on this occasion, when the Doctor returned to his ship.

There was an eerie silence aboard and it was because something wasn't right. Rory followed his wife aboard the ship and watched the Doctor from across the console room. He was clearly disturbed, but by what was _unknown_. Had it been something in the library? There was little way of knowing.

The Doctor watched his friends from far beyond the console room. He saw them _whispering about his activities_, worrying him silly. There was something wrong but he didn't like to admit it, least of all to himself, and while he thought about it some more, so did Rory.

But it was the Doctor who decided something had to be done. He leant across the console and pulled hard on a lever. There was a mighty thud, that sent the TARDIS spinning out of control, until there was a crash and a shudder and a terrible explosion.

The TARDIS ripped into two and the lights dimmed. The Doctor and his companions were unconscious, both occupying the two halves of the TARDIS. It had separated, split in half by some terrifying force. All of space filled the console room, or what was left of it...

The Doctor, in his ill health, struggled to stand in his surroundings. The TARDIS wasn't what it once was. It was a wreck. And spiralling towards the sun was the other half, that which held his friends. In an instant, he had realised what had happened, and tried desperately to correct his fault.

By mistake, he had pulled hard on the lever that read _'separation'_, only to be used in emergencies. He blamed his actions on the change in him, that he was now beginning to recognise since leaving the library.

He had to do something, _anything_, 'if' he wished to save his friends, but he had to act fast! There was little time left. But he was still feeling rough, and he hadn't yet worked out what it was holding him back. And then he realised he wasn't on his own. He spun about and recognised a face in the darkness. The facial features were blurred but he saw the lips curl.

"Doctor…" the voice hissed. "I have returned."

"Who are you?" demanded the Doctor.

"Don't you know me?" shrieked the voice. _"Not even me?"_

"If I did…" replied the Doctor. "I wouldn't have asked."

The stranger stepped out from beyond the darkness.

**"I am the Doctor!"**

* * *

_On the other half of the TARDIS, Amy stirred from a bad dream. She awoke with a splitting headache and a bad back. She sat upright and gazed out into space._

"This isn't real…" she mumbled. "It can't be!"

Rory suddenly sat up and comforted his wife.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Look!" she said.

Rory turned from her to the stars beyond. Together, they were speechless.

"Where's the Doctor?" moaned Rory.

"I've no idea," said Amy. "It's just you and me," she went on. "We're _going_ to die!"

"Now calm down," replied Rory. "There's got to be a way out…"

"What do you mean?" asked Amy.

"Well if you hadn't noticed," continued Rory. "We're hurtling towards the sun!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

_In next week's chapter:_

"You say you're '_me'_," replied the Doctor. "But from the future or the past?"

The stranger paced up and down. "I am you," he answered. "I make up who you are…"

"…and you said I should know you?"

"I thought we had already met. It would seem our first encounter hasn't happened yet."

"Well then," said the Doctor. "Here's to the future."


	3. Chapter 3: I'm not sure I follow

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

**Chapter Three: ****I'm not sure I follow...**

* * *

The two halves of the TARDIS drifted further apart. The Doctor and his new acquaintance, and his friends Amy and Rory were left gawping open mouthed at one another from across endless, dark space.

"There must be something we can do!" urged the stranger.

"Yes… but what?" muttered the Doctor.

They gazed at all around them, at the objects that filled their surroundings. Left with the console, the Doctor set to work.

"What are you doing?" cut in the stranger, while the Doctor busied himself with work. "There's nothing that can be achieved by re-wiring the console. After all… if it was working alright when the accident occurred, there can be nothing wrong with it, surely?"

The Doctor looked up from what he was doing, placing the wires in his hands on the floor. As he picked himself up, he wandered towards his _'friend'_.

"You asked _'me'_ what I was doing," replied the Doctor. "…and yet you say your me!"

"So what?" shrugged the stranger.

The Doctor walked towards him but with some caution.

"If we were both one in the same, we would both know exactly what either of us was up to…"

"So why don't I know?" was the stranger's terrifying response.

The Doctor didn't know.

"Could it be because your ill?"

"Possibly," replied the Doctor. He gazed at his watch.

"How long until the other half reaches the sun?"

"Not long," the Doctor answered, fully aware of the time. "But I have an idea," he said, with some uncertainty in his voice. "Something that might just work, given time…"

"And that's something we have very little of!" reminded the man who claimed he too was the Doctor. "But nevertheless," he said, picking up from where he left off. "Better late than never!"

The Doctor dived below the console, working with the controls, - re-wiring circuit boards and tapping in codes. Back on his feet, he made certain all was ready before finally switching on the console, and boosting all power aboard his ship to work the controls.

They suddenly lit up and the Doctor grinned with glee. His associate however made no sound whatsoever. He simply observed what was going on around him, and took an interest in the Doctor's activities.

"You say you're '_me'_," whispered the Doctor. "But from the future or the past?"

The stranger paced up and down behind him. "I am you," he answered. "I make up who you are…"

"…and you said I should know you?"

"I thought we had already met. It would seem our first encounter hasn't happened yet."

"Well then," said the Doctor. "Here's to the future!"

He spun around but then suddenly remembered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his friends, and they were screaming his name.

"Doctor!" yelled Amy. "Hurry!" she called.

Of course the Doctor couldn't hear her but he knew what had to be done. He turned to the stranger, the_ 'next Doctor'_ and asked for his help.

"Of course," he replied, at what was a simple request, - one that might test both _friendship_ and _honesty_ at such a terrible time. "What can I do?" he asked.

"Concentrate!" said the Doctor. "By doing so, we might come up with a solution. While on my own, even for just a short time, I couldn't come up with an answer." He hoped together, they might work out a way of saving both Amy and Rory and restoring the TARDIS.

To be continued…

* * *

In next week's chapter:

"I can't save you!" was the text the Doctor had sent. There was nothing more that needed to be said.

"He's given up on us," sighed Rory. "But why would he do this to us?"

"But you can save yourselves!" Another text had come in. "Just do as I text, that is of course… _if you want to live!_"

The Doctors watched the TARDIS hurtle into the sun. There was nothing more they could do.


	4. Chapter 4: What could follow?

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

**Chapter Four: What could follow?**

* * *

"I've got it!" said the _'next Doctor'_, 'quite _convincingly_ too', thought the Doctor.

"What have you come up with?" he asked, mischievously. "…and _will_ it save Amy and Rory?"

"I think so," said his counterpart, nodding with some enthusiasm. "I only hope it works!"

"Then tell me," said the Doctor. "Tell me what your plan is…"

There was a minute's pause. The Doctor was still unwell and yet all he cared about was the safety of his friends.

"Young people today text!" belted the next Doctor. "They do it all the time. They're never off their phones!"

"Of course, your right!" declared the Doctor. "And I've boosted all power to the controls." He gazed at his associate. "The TARDIS has a secondary control unit. If we boost all the reserve power we have to the secondary console, Amy and Rory can pull away from the sun and save us all!"

_Delighted, the Doctors set to work. Rushing about the console, they switched off all power to the ship. The Doctor pulled out a phone and began to text his friends, when he suddenly remembered._

"I've never messaged anyone in my life," he said, trembling with the nerves of misspelling and numerous inaccuracies.

He looked up from the message he was typing and stared across the console room towards his friend.

"I wonder how they're coping…" he said, while averting his friend's gaze. He turned about, and stared out across space to the tiniest blot in the darkness being the TARDIS.

* * *

Staring back at him, though not entirely sue it was him they were squinting at, was Amy and Rory, and they weren't happy. It wouldn't be long, - their momentary disintegration as they neared the heat of the sun.

Suddenly, Amy's phone began to buzz. It was set to vibrate, and Rory reached it first. "It's the Doctor!" he said, reading his message.

"I can't save you!" was the text the Doctor had sent. There was nothing more that needed to be said.

"He's given up on us," sighed Rory. "But why would he do this to us?"

"But you can save yourselves," was the next text to come in. "Just do as I text, that is of course… _if you want to live!"_

Amy grabbed the phone and read the next message.

"I've boosted all remaining power to the secondary console," she said, reading the message that came in next. "All you've got to do is switch on the controls and await my next text." She looked up at Rory and frowned. "Any questions?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Right then," she said, full aware of how close they were now to the sun. "He says there's another control console aboard!"

"Any idea where we can find it?" asked Rory, in something of a panic. "I mean… he doesn't give us much to go on, does he?" he moaned.

"No," she said, though she didn't let it get to her. "We haven't much time!"

"I know," he said, through grit teeth. _"So let's hurry and find it!"_

They set off on their hottest adventure yet, and hoped they'd find what they were looking for.

"Have you any idea how long it'll take them?" asked the next Doctor.

"Not long, I hope," answered the Doctor.

To be continued...

* * *

In next week's chapter:

I'm going to die," said the Doctor. "I've seen this coming!"

"But you saved our lives," said Rory. "You can't die now!"

"But he can," said the next Doctor, huffing with excitement. "His time has come!"


	5. Chapter 5: The Dying Doctor

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

**Chapter Five: The Dying Doctor**

* * *

Rory was with Amy in a corridor aboard the TARDIS. The Doctor was onboard the other half of the ship, sailing away from his two friends. Both were concerned of where they were and how far they were from one another. And then suddenly, a text was sent, from a phone in the Doctor's possession. When Amy received it, she read it aloud. "He says," she murmured. "Have you found it yet?"

"Does he not know how big his TARDIS is?" muttered Rory. "You'd think he'd have some idea of how long it might take us…"

"But remember," said Amy. "We haven't that long to find it." She gazed at Rory. "We are heading towards the sun!"

"Oh yeah…" groaned Rory. "I could hardly forget the ever increasing heat all around us," he moaned. "Besides… I think I can see it…"

Not too far ahead was a bright light, a flare in the darkness. The corridor was cool and wet and damp… unusually.

"I wonder…" whispered Amy. "Could this be the reason for the Doctor's cold?" She was genuinely concerned. Why would there be a damp place aboard the TARDIS?

"Possibly…" said Rory. "Although I thought he might have picked up an illness of some sort. He hasn't displayed the usual signs of a 'cold'."

As they walked on ahead, they suddenly stopped and to their delight found what it was they were looking for. The light had been considerably far from where they had been standing before, and it had taken them a short while to eventually arrive at their destination.

"Text the Doctor," urged Rory. "Tell him we've located the secondary console room… somehow!" He chuckled at how odd it was that they had found it.

"Okay," she said, tapping at the keypad, her fingers passing over the controls. "Better be quick," she continued. "I can feel our surroundings beginning to heat up…"

* * *

The Doctor was ill. More so now than ever before. He was beginning to feel one with the TARDIS, the heat of the sun all around.

"Help me…" he said, clutching the jacket of his own self, who gazed down at him as though he were a child… and smiled. "Who are you really?" the Doctor demanded.

"I'm you," said the 'next Doctor', but I'm not known as _'the Doctor'_. That would be silly," he admitted, gleefully. "Who calls themselves the Doctor unless…"

"Unless what?" murmured the Doctor.

"Unless they really are_ 'a'_ Doctor?"

The _'real'_ Doctor was confused so he asked again.

"I demand you tell me who you are!" he bellowed, now crawling on his knees, and breathing heavily.

"I am known as the Dream lord," the stranger answered. "And you will call me by that name if you so wish to survive all this…"

"What's happening to me?" yelped the Doctor, falling now on to his back. He was in agony, his body in terrible pain. There was nothing he could do.

"It was me," said the Dream lord," in response to his question. "When I arrived, you felt the effect because you and I are connected!"

"So it was you all along!" muttered the Doctor. "Of course it was, I mean… it had to be you, surely…"

The Dream lord chuckled as though all was well only there was something else. Something the Dream lord wasn't quite prepared to let on about when… the Doctor received a text.

"Ha ha, - they've made it!" he announced. He quickly replied. "You've watched me do it," he messaged. "Now it's you turn!"

He sent the message back. When Amy received it, she was gob smacked. She didn't know what he meant. But then Rory realised he could only mean one thing.

"He means this thing!" he said, meaning the TARDIS console ahead of him. "It's up to us now, Amy."

"What do you mean?" she asked him. "I don't understand…"

"Then try, please…" pleaded Rory. "He wants us to pilot the TARDIS, to reconnect with the rest of the ship, and we've watched him do it so now it's our turn."

Amy looked up at him and frowned.

"No-way," she said first. "This can't be what he meant…"

"Trust me," said Rory. "We've very little time to argue about this. If we don't act now… we'll die in the scorching heat of the sun." He paused for thought. "Are you with me?" he asked.

"Always," replied Amy, taking his hand as they rushed about the console, pulling levers and controls. "Just promise me we can do this…" she whispered.

"Oh, Amy…" murmured Rory. "We can so do this…"

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6: The Final Battle

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

**Chapter Six: The Final battle**

* * *

Rory held the gaze of his wife, Amy. They were in this together. All around them was the chaos and destruction caused by none other than the Dream Lord. But then a text came through, sent by the Doctor, and the power was in their hands.

It was their turn to pilot the TARDIS, to save themselves this time. Rory held Amy in his arms, pulling her close, and then rushed around the console. Like the Doctor; he pulled at levers, kicked at instruments, and set the TARDIS in motion.

It was working. The TARDIS was theirs to control. And suddenly… the blue box was travelling away from the sun to safety.

"You've done it!" said Amy. "We're no longer heading for the sun…"

"Well it was nothing," said Rory. "You know me…"

"Yeah…" she said. "That's why I'm surprised!"

The Doctor could see the other half of the TARDIS travelling towards him. Looking up at the Dream Lord, he grinned and then smirked.

"If I were you," he said, through grit teeth. "I'd hold on tight!"

Seeing for himself the trouble heading towards him, the Dream Lord dived for cover as the second half of the TARDIS merged with the first. There was a terrifying explosion, and a mighty collision. The cloister bells could be heard bellowing from somewhere below.

There was anger in the Doctor's voice as he was helped to his feet by his friends.

"I want you out!" he demanded, picking up the Dream Lord by the scruff of his neck. "This is it…"

"And you think I came all this way to have you throw me out?" he squirmed. "You've got it all wrong, Doctor!"

"Oh really? Why's that then?" demanded Amy.

"Because…" hissed the Dream Lord. "Your friend is dying!"

She turned to the Doctor who was indeed in pain.

"What is it?" she asked him. "What's wrong?"

"It's him…" he muttered. "It's the Dream Lord!"

"But it can't be?" replied Rory. "He's not doing anything…"

The Dream Lord stepped back from the Doctor and his friends.

"He doesn't need to…" stressed the Doctor. "He's me!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Amy. Of course he's you, but… he's the Dream Lord, isn't he?"

"Think of me as an ant," said the Doctor. "And there's a kid who hates ants. What does he do to those ants?"

The question was too horrifying to answer.

"He steps on them…" mimed Rory.

"I'm being pressed down on and out of existence."

"But you can't be!" said Amy. "You were ill before the Dream Lord put in an appearance…"

"But it was the Dream Lord making an entrance," replied the Doctor.

"But you can regenerate!" stated Amy. "You're not really dying…"

"But I am though," said the Doctor.

"But you saved our lives," said Rory. "You can't die now!"

"But he can," said the Dream Lord, huffing with excitement. "His time has come!"

* * *

**In the next chapter:**

The Doctor had been removed from space and time. The Dream Lord had won.

"He can't be dead!" sobbed Amy. "He just can't be!"

"He is though," said Rory. "And we're to blame?"

"What do you mean?" asked Amy.

"We didn't stop him," said Rory, nodding towards the Dream Lord. "But all that's going to change, isn't it?"


	7. Chapter 7: Ill Treated

**The Sick Doctor**

**By Nathan Mullins**

**Chapter Seven: Ill Treated**

* * *

The Doctor's time had come. It was the end. As he was left struggling to cope aboard the TARDIS, he felt a sudden pause. He stopped trying to hold on, until… he vanished. His body simply disappeared. Where had he gone? No-one knew.

"Where is he?" sniffled Amy. "The Doctor…" she pointed out. "He's gone!"

Rory hadn't noticed. He was sobbing into his sleeve. He turned to the Dream Lord and scowled.

"What have you done?" he asked.

"The Doctor is dead," declared the Dream Lord.

The Doctor had been removed from space and time. The Dream Lord had won.

"He can't be dead!" sobbed Amy. "He just can't be!"

"He is though," said Rory. "And we're to blame?"

"What do you mean?" asked Amy.

"We didn't stop him," said Rory, nodding towards the Dream Lord. "But all that's going to change, isn't it?"

Only the Doctor wasn't dead. Not really.

"Where am I?" he mumbled. He was somewhere, but not quite knowing _'where_'. Then it occurred to him that he was alive. "I think I'm beginning to understand," he muttered. "The Dream Lord has taken my place. We've swapped places!"

Meanwhile; aboard the TARDIS… all was not well. Rory was demanding answers from the DreamLord, while Amy sobbed in the shadows.

"If the Doctor's dead," he continued. "We've got a problem."

"What might that be?" hissed the Dream Lord, agitatedly.

"You're still here!" stated Rory. "So something has to be done, and I know what!"

* * *

The Doctor rummaged around, searching for a way out. There had to be a way, or how else had the Dream Lord escaped?

He was in a room of darkness, when something caught his eye. It was the TARDIS, and it was flying towards him.

But it was tiny. He reached for it, and suddenly he was aboard.

Rory charged forward, reaching for the doors. Pulling them towards him, he stared out into space.

"Wait!" shrieked Amy. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I think he wishes to see me fall…" roared the DreamLord. "But that's not going to happen because…

"…it's Rory and that would be murder!" bellowed a voice, cutting the Dream Lord off. The voice was that belonging to the Doctor.

"You're alive?" beamed Amy.

"I certainly am!" replied the Doctor. "And this is my TARDIS," he added, talking down to the Dream Lord. "So back off!"

"How was it you were able to escape?" murmured the Dream Lord.

"Because," he began, getting off to a good start. "…where I was imprisoned was where you were too, and I am you… remember!"

"So how are you going to stop him?" asked Rory. "Who's going to out-smart who?"

"well me, of course!" snapped the Doctor. "And by destroying the TARDIS!"

"What?" wondered Amy. "But you can't!" she argued.

"I must!" replied the Doctor, shutting down the console and the main controls. "I've got to!"

The Dream Lord shrieked in terror as the TARDIS shut down.

"What's he doing?" whispered Rory, speaking with Amy. "Does he know what he's doing?"

"You bet!" she replied.

Once the lights dimmed, the Doctor frowned, and looked up from the console.

"Now do you see the lengths I'll go to!" exclaimed the Doctor. "This is it," he went on, taunting the Dream Lord. "The TARDIS is clever, and she wants you out. She recognises that only I am the Doctor, and not you. And what's more… with the TARDIS deactivated, the prsion world can no longer trace her. So when you're banished there next, don't think you can simply hop aboard."

The Dream Lord suddenly fizzled out of existence, leaving the Doctor, Amy, and Rory as the victors aboard the TARDIS.

"Oh well done!" cheered Amy, congratulating her friend. "But you can fix her…" she said. "This old thing, that is."

The Doctor shook his head.

"You're joking, aren't you?" murmered Rory.

A light suddenly emerged from the console.

"Of course," he said. "I was just waiting for confirmation."

"Confirmation of what?" wondered Amy.

"Confirmation of the imprisonment of the Dream Lord," replied the Doctor. "And the TARDIS really is very clever," he added. "The Dream Lord was being weakened all the time, right until I shut down the TARDIS. I think that I may have sent him over the edge after all, Rory."

"So where next then?" asked Amy.

"Who knows," replied the Doctor. "Somewhere fun, I hope."


End file.
